Arts and Entertainment DistrictThe Arts and Entertainment District in Marshall Minnesota incorporates what most local residents call our Downtown. It is bordered by Memorial Park on the south, the Lyon County Courthouse on the north, Liberty Park band shell on the east and the National Guard Armory on the west. It has been the dream of local art and music supporters to add cultural experiences to the business of downtown. From the Thursdays on Third event, Sounds of Summer and our weekly summer band concerts, many have dreamed to develop Marshall’s downtown into an entertainment district. The Whitney StatueAs Marshall has grown so has the idea of commemorating Mrs. Mary Whitney for her role in naming our community and their service as the First Family of Marshall. Mrs. Whitney’s story is fascinating and inspiring and the statue serves as a welcome to the downtown area. It merges both art and history and commemorates one of the city’s most important pioneers. The Whitney Statue is one of a handful of statues dedicated to women settlers. Mary Whitney was commemorated for her role in naming Marshall during the 2013 Sounds of Summer celebration. The statue’s installation along with the irrigation project will mark the end of the renovation project at Liberty Park.This statue does “convey the feeling of ‘welcome’, with peace, strength and hopefulness for the future.”The Marshall Mural ProjectThe Marshall Mural Project is a multi-year community effort to develop and implement visual imagery through three public arts murals in downtown Marshall. With goals of developing downtown Marshall as a vibrant, active center and celebrating its long and successful history through art, the Marshall Mural Project, led by Marshall Area Fine Arts Council (MAFAC), is in the process of implementing three public arts murals in collaboration with the City of Marshall and local businesses, organizations and community residents. Two of the three murals have been completed. The first mural, depicting Marshall’s music by artist Greg Wimmer, is on the west wall of Johnson’s Paint and Wallpaper (316 West Main Street). The second mural, depicting Marshall’s history by artist Josh Sarantitis, is on the west wall of Blue Green (256 West Main Street). The third mural (see below), a Sports/Recreation Mural commissioned by Terry Fogarty, renowned Minnesota sports artist will be installed in 2014. It will be located on the parking lot side of the Varsity Pub, across the street from Memorial Park in Marshall. Please call MAFAC at 507-532-5463 or visit www.mafac.net for more information.